You can’t skip networking if you want to be successful. Business networking is vital in today’s business climate. If you want to meet more people in a short amount of time, then you need to attend networking events. Networking events can be on various topics of industry interests, but the holiday networking events are in a league of their own. You will meet more quality contacts quickly at holiday networking events than at any other type of business event.
Holiday parties are great places to meet everyone you could ever want to meet! I’m not talking about company holiday parties thrown for employees. I’m talking about holiday events thrown to show off, thrown for their customers. If you aren’t in a large city, you will need to find the closest city with industry leaders. For me, those industry events are hosted by Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, and IBM—big names with big budgets for showing off.
Organizations, charities, and government embassies can also host holiday events. Choose events based on your budget; don’t despair if your budget is 0, as many events are free.
Holiday business networking will take about two weeks of your December, but those weeks will pay off in years of quality relationships. I love networking during the holidays! The events are extravagant, and every large company in your industry is throwing some unique events focused on celebrating their customers and their business at the end of the year. Big companies, tech, medical, hospitality, whatever your industry, the industry leaders are throwing parties, and these parties often have no guest lists, so make your way over and walk in.
I’ve met well-connected, awesome people, clients who have bought hundreds of thousands of services over the years, and dear friends and mentors at holiday parties. Everyone is at holiday events—in a way that isn’t like any other time of the year. They are more open and casual, allowing for fun conversations and joking around. Find your type of people at holiday parties.
Where to find events?
Three types of events
- Mid-sized and large companies throw show-off events
- Political organizations and embassies throw holiday parties for the community
- Community events from nonprofits and organizers focused on the public.
I don’t like to pay for events. Sure, sometimes you must, but typically, I don’t. I don’t want to pay for an event unless I’m learning something from amazing people who need to be paid or contributing to a good cause. Don’t feel pressured to pay for events, but if the event is worth it, pay. It’s up to you, but don’t feel pressured to spend more than you can afford on events that might not pay back for years. You must think strategically. I would recommend free events while you are still learning to network.
Events are Published Online before they happen.
Go open Eventbrite, MeetUp, and LinkedIn. Disclaimer: Your first year isn’t going to be the best because, for the best holiday parties, you need to know who’s in the know. So, get out there first and meet people; then next year will be even better.
Eventbrite
Eventbrite is my favorite site for finding events. There is a lot on there, so you will need to use the filter tool. Choose the city of your choice. Your local area is fine, but if you live in a smaller town, it’s going to be challenging to find the many events. You can start in your local community, but I encourage you to attend industry events in major cities over time. For industry events, taking a few days to drive to a city is worth it.
Filter- city-business- Industry of Choice, mine is Technology. You are looking for events held by recognizable companies and organizations that are leaders in your industry. Another help is to follow all the medium-large companies on LinkedIn, not only Microsoft or IBM big, but the ones just under them. Their industry’s competitors are number 2-3 in their industry, but they want to be number 1, so they are throwing holiday parties to flex success for customers. That’s what you want.
You want big companies, but not too big, and you want to watch for them. That said, go to the big names, too, and go to as many events as you can handle. Time is essential, so prioritize the events where you are most likely to meet your people; if you have the extra time, go to the fun and big company events, too. Years ago, I attended a fantastic IBM event at the Hilton Midtown NYC, where I met Pete. Pete knows about all the events going on—it’s his hobby. He loves events! So, keep your eyes out for different sorts of events.
Follow the companies you recognize as the leaders in your industry. These companies will advertise when they have events. You can follow them on other social media, but LinkedIn is typically where they share the most.
If you want to learn how to spot events and network better, take the Networking is Your Shortcut to Success course. I’ll show you how to network the right way and spot good events. I also cover the people you should avoid and much more. It’s an hour-and-a-half course with resources to help you network for business and make the right connections to propel your business or career right away.
Who you need to meet
Connectors—Do you know the people who are in the know? The people who know what’s going on and when? If you don’t know, you need to meet these people as soon as possible! Where to meet them? At events that attract them. Events that attract known people are educational, big, luxurious, and entertaining. I took a river cruise around the River Thames in London and attended industry events to discuss new problems.
For example, I attended a machine learning event where I met a group of middle-aged retired tech guys who float around the industry educational events. These guys always know what’s going on in New York, London, or any other city you are in. If an event is interesting, there will be interesting people there. When you meet these people who are in the know about events, you choose the people you like and keep in touch with them. Whenever a cool event comes up, they will reach out to you and invite you. They get the notifications before anyone else, so get to know these people who are in the know.
Clients—I don’t believe networking is about finding clients. It’s about finding people who can help you grow in many ways, so keep an open mind while networking. Don’t be the needy puppy hovering around looking for clients. I’ve met clients while networking, but it’s while chatting about something else and not mentioning business to them until another day.
What events to attend
You are busy, right? You don’t have the time to attend many events and scan around looking for the people who will make your life easier. If that’s you, then you need to ensure every minute counts. Only attend the best of the best, skip the want-to-be entrepreneurial events, skip the gallas and parties for the sake of parties. Skip the apparent artificial pomp and prestige.
Focus on events held in historic buildings, cool venues, and venues with interesting educational or historical significance. Events that look as though the hosts spent a lot of money hosting. For example, events I would attend in New York are at nice restaurants like Michael Jordan’s in Grand Central hosted by a technology firm, steak and great food are included, and there are often no guest lists. I also went to events in consulates, embassies, libraries, and universities. When choosing an event, think about your ideal customer. Is this somewhere they would go? Think about your ideal mentor, will they be at the event? If not, maybe skip it.
Avoid braggards and boasters- watch how people react to each other. Look for people who are well respected by others, people who know many people there, and enjoy being spoken to. Look for happy people with friendly facial features and smiles; these are the people to seek. I cover much more in the Networking is Your Shortcut to Success Course about people to seek and others to avoid. Like any relationship, you don’t want to be around bad people: jealous, scammers, and most definitely stay away from the mean ones. Use your intuition; how do you feel in their presence?
Take your time you aren’t in a rush. Talk and enjoy the moments. Then, at the end of the night, before you go to bed, go through all the business cards, add the ones you liked to LinkedIn with a friendly message and add them to your contacts. Then, in a few days, send them another message inviting them to meet for a drink or walk and grow the relationship. Little by little, we aren’t in a rush.
Networking is great for business; don’t wait; get started right away. Networking will create your mastermind group by building your own community of mentors and supportive, wonderful people you want in your life. Networking takes a lot of practice and some self-introspection. Consider how to be more likable. I also suggest considering your genuine self and being careful about what you fake till you make it.
Take the Networking is Your Shortcut to Success course on our offers page to become a better networker. Then, subscribe to a weekly email with blog posts and business tips. Have a wonderful day.
